Hi Ashley, 
You said:
> That was me.  It definitely *wasn't* the initial shift into ketosis,  
> this was months into me eating paleo, and I was eating a LOT of  
> fruit.  It wasn't ketosis cycling either, I've done that 
> several times  
> since and it gives me a headache but not muscle weakness.

Okay. Clearly I was wrong on that point. 

(snip)  Often when I got home my main  
> meal would be a turkey leg (virtually no fat at all) and some 
> veg, and  
> the first thing I'd do after eating one would be to raid the fruit  
> basket to satisfy the crucifying hunger it gave me.  When I 
> started my  
> first permanent job (in an office this time), I used to binge 
> on dried  
> fruit to try and get some energy, but I would still have days 
> where it  
> was a physical effort to get out of my chair.

Okay..... I'm convinced that the problem was insufficient fat, but why would
you go to that extreme? Cordain recommends 25% fat. It appears that you were
eating very, very little fat. 


> Anyway, back to me.  Eventually I abandoned the lean meat idea.  It  
> was pretty scary, seeing how everyone was (and is) saying 
> that eating  
> animal fat will give you a heart attack down the road, but I figured  
> if the Inuit lived healthily off a diet of almost pure meat and fat,  
> the fat-heart theory *must be wrong*.

I certainly agree with you there. 

> 
> So I started eating loads of mince meat, fatty pork leg 
> joints etc.  I  
> went way out the other way - I'd hunt through every pack of meat in  
> the supermarket looking for big slabs of fat, and anything I 
> fried got  
> soaked in dripping.  Result - no more hunger or muscle weakness.
> 
> Maybe for some reason I have higher fat requirements than 
> most people  
> - my metabolism isn't in the best shape, although it's a lot better  
> than it was.  But I'm absolutely certain that it was lack of 
> fat that  
> was doing it, and not in any way related to ketosis.  And the 
> lack of  
> fat was solely down to following Cordain's recommendation of eating  
> lean meat.  

I do remember something about that in some of his writing, but most of what
I've seen of his says 25% fats. 
If I remember correctly, he is focused on omega 3 & 6 and unsaturated fats.
I've always considered that a miscue. I find that I am my healthiest when I
eat all kinds of fats. 

> Hence (a) my cautious attitude to his 
> interpretation of a  
> paleo diet and (b) my almost fanatical habit of reminding anyone  
> embarking on a paleo (or low carb) diet to EAT FAT.

Like you, I embrace fats. Maybe they aren't the best choice for everyone,
but they do seem to be better for me. I usually carry about 5 pounds more
than I need, and it is on my torso. I can lose the belly in a week just by
reducing my carb intake. 

Unfortunately, I have a strong attraction to sweets. I miss them terribly.
After a meal I will get up and wander around the kitchen trying to see
something that will quell my sweet tooth. When I do break down and eat
something sweet, I unleash a daemon that keeps after me to keep on feeding
it. I suspect that is the root of much of the obesity out there. I can
certainly sympathize.

Although fats seem to provide me with all the energy I need, and I savor the
flavor of fats, I sure wish it was true that carbs are our friends. :-)

Best Wishes,
Ron